The Potters of Waverly Place
by PD31
Summary: Everything is not what it seems for the street's newest family.


The Potters of Waverley Place

By PD31

Rating: T

Summary: Everything is not what it seems for the new arrivals in Waverly Place, New York. Main pairings are James Potter/Alex Russo and Max Russo/Lily Potter.

**AN: Welcome to this story. The title, and the idea of a cross-over, was bugging me for a while so I wrote this. It may be a one-shot or it may spawn future chapters; I just don't know right now.**

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Chapter 1

_Number 12 Grimmauld Place, London_

"Morning dad, here's the post," fourteen-year-old James Potter handed a small stack of mail to his father as he joined his parents and younger sister in the house's kitchen.

"Thank you James. Oh look, a letter has arrived from overseas; I wonder if it's the one we're expecting,"

"Who is it addressed to?" his wife asked curiously.

"Professor Potter," he smiled; she pulled a face at his intentionally vague reply. "Professor _H_ Potter," he elaborated, his grin widening.

"That still doesn't narrow it down, husband dearest," Hermione observed, sidling up to him, slipping an arm round him and kissing him on the cheek; James rolled his eyes at his parents' affection.

"We're embarrassing our first-born again," the green-eyed 'boy-who-lived' commented lightly.

"Isn't that a parent's job?" his bushy-haired wife laughed, kissing him again. "Now, what does the letter say?"

He slit it open and speed-read it; his children's eyes tuned to him; they suspected, from their parents' whispered conversations over recent weeks, that big news was afoot.

Harry cleared his throat.

"_Dear Professor Potter,_

_We are delighted to invite you to join our staff as Defence Against the Dark Arts professor. Term will begin on September 1__st__. We await your confirmation that you do wish to accept this position, at which time preparations will be made for your arrival._

_Warmest Regards,_

_Hank Stein,_

_Chair of Governors, Wiz Tech._"

He looked up; the kids' faces were apprehensive.

"There's another letter in here," he commented, drawing a second piece of parchment out. He opened it before handing it to his wife. "It's for you," he told her; Hermione quickly read through it and her face lit up.

"I got the job there too; I'll be teaching Transfiguration!" The Potter parents embraced in congratulation.

"Dad, are we moving away?" James asked cautiously.

"Yes," Harry confirmed.

"Leaving before I even get to Hogwarts?" eleven-year-old Lily sounded horrified at the thought.

"Well you don't _have_ to," he reasoned. "We could send you there and back by portkey, like Dumbledore did for the Weasleys and me in our fifth year; you went skiing instead," he reminded Hermione, "or you could travel by floo powder to Ron's and he'd take you to King's Cross for the train. Or you could go to Wiz Tech instead. But we _are_ moving," he confirmed.

"Where to?"

"New York City."

_Waverley Place, New York City, New York_

"Here we are," Harry opened the door to the family's new home; they had had to apparate to a safe, sparsely populated area (not easy to do in New York City) with the help of a wizard contact through Wiz Tech, who had then shown the family to Waverly Place.

"We'll get the fire lit, they connected us this morning to the network but obviously couldn't get past the protective charms to just apparated into our home, and start moving our things; Kreacher knows to have the grate lit back at Number 12," Harry told his family, "he'll be joining us once everything's done."

"He's even less happy than you two are about it," Hermione told the kids, "leaving the house of Black. "He'll get used to it; we _all_ will," she insisted; James and Lily nodded weakly.

"But first," the man of the house clapped his hands, "what do you say we go and get something to eat?" he suggested. "There's that sandwich restaurant we passed on the way in, we could try that?"

Hungry, the family nodded and Harry led them down to it.

"Take a seat anywhere, we'll be with you soon," a harassed-looking Latina woman told them from behind the counter. "Alex?" she called; a girl of around James's age, who he supposed to be her daughter, gave a disinterested look from the other side of the room before following the woman's meaningful look and trudging over to the newcomers.

"Hello, what can I get you?" she asked with forced politeness and a mischievous glint in her eye that James found alluring.

"Some menus might be a good start," he noted flippantly; the girl looked at him but her displeased expression melted as she processed his words.

"Oh I love your accent," she smiled. "I'll be right back," and she dashed off to pick up some menus, returning and distributing them with a smile. "Take as long as you need," her eyes lingered on James before she departed; Harry and Hermione traded glances at the thought of her son charming the local girls already.

"Just be careful," she warned her son.

"I don't know what you mean, mum," he responded innocently.

"She means don't go doing magic to impress your new girlfriend," Lily pointed out helpfully, earning her a kick from her big brother.

"Ow," she wailed.

"And it starts again already," Harry palmed his face and shook his head; Hermione placed a sympathetic hand on his back.

Half an hour later the Potters had just about finished their meal; Alex was leaning against the counter, keeping an eye on James and smiling widely.

"What's put you in a good mood?" her little brother Max asked before following her line of sight to the unfamiliar family; his eyes lingered on the young girl in the group, causing his sister to smirk as she glanced at him.

"You like the look of her? Just wait until she talks."

"Oh look, they're done; I think I'll collect their plates," he set off for the table only for Alex to seize his arm and pull him to a halt.

"Oh no you don't, I'll deal with them."

"You've already spoken to them, it's my turn," he shot back.

The siblings bickered openly while the Potter children watched; it was something that they both found amusing, though Harry and Hermione shook their heads in unison when they looked around to see what was entertaining their off-spring.

"I guess kids are kids the world over," Hermione commented.

"And they don't have to be siblings, do they," Harry grinned before coughing the word 'Ron'.

"Shut up," his wife told him, causing him to chuckle; the kids laughed too, knowing all about the history of bickering between their mother and 'uncle' Ron.

In the end, both Russo children arrived at the table and began to clear things away.

"Excellent service," James complimented Alex with a grin; the waitress smiled and thanked him courteously.

"Hi, I'm Max; I haven't seen you around before, are you new to the area?" he asked them, paying particular attention to Lily, who smiled back at him.

"Yes, we just moved here from England; we're going to live in one of the small houses at the end of the street," the young girl explained.

"Oh cool, we live in one of the apartments in this building. Dad owns this place so we live and work pretty much in the same place."

"Wait, you got one of the _houses_?" Alex had turned to take their empty plates away but looked back at this. Wow, they do _not_ come cheap," she noted.

The Potters exchanged looks; they were not used to discussing wealth openly as it had always been a sore point growing up with Ron and knowing the Weasleys' lack of money. Harry, of course, had inherited an appreciable sum from both his parents and the Blacks via Sirius; Hermione's parents had been moderately well off in the muggle world as dentists. The Grangers decided to stay in Australia after Hermione lifted the memory charm she put on them before sending them there; when they settled their affairs in England they provided her with enough money to live comfortably as well.

"Well we both have good paying jobs," Harry muttered cautiously, not willing to disclose too much to a girl he had just met, despite the gnawing feeling that she and his son would be getting rather friendly rather too soon. _On the plus side_, he speculated, _maybe it means he'll want to stay here and attend Wiz Tech rather than going back to Hogwarts. At least we could keep an eye on him at school here_.

"Oh really, what do you do?" Alex asked.

Hermione thought the girl was rather rude but answered curtly, "We're both teachers."

"Please tell me you won't be teaching at Tribeca Prep," Max begged, not particularly wanting to associate with new teachers.

"Oh I can promise that," Harry assured them happily. "In fact I doubt you'd ever come across us while we're teaching."

"Where will _you_ be going to school?" Max asked Lily, "will you be going to Tribeca?" he asked hopefully.

"_No_," she replied flatly, much to his disappointment. "I _have_ been offered a place where mum and dad are going to be or I might be going to boarding school back in England with James," she nodded at her brother.

"Oh, you're going back?" Alex asked in disappointment.

"I haven't decided yet," he explained delicately, which was a departure from his previous attestation that he _would_ be staying at Hogwarts, "I could go to the school mum and dad are at too."

"Well, we need to get going and make a start on unpacking our things," Harry said suddenly, fearing that the talk of schools could lead to a rather obvious question being asked by the inquisitive Americans. He and Hermione stood up; their children reluctantly copied.

"Well, see you around," Alex told James, who smiled at her again.

"Bye," Lily waved at Max as they left.

"We never _did_ find out what school they were teaching at," Max shrugged.

"Probably one of these snotty private schools; where else would employ people who talk like that," she did a very bad impression of Hermione's accent and her brother laughed.

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"Incendio!" Hermione pointed her wand at the grate and a fire was instantly merrily burning.

"Kreacher!" Harry called and the house elf instantly answered the summons by appearing in their new home with a loud _crack!_

"Yes, master?" he asked politely, despite his expression showing that he still held clear misgivings over leaving the Black house.

"Is the fire lit at Number 12?" Harry asked.

"Indeed master, Kreacher has done everything that master asked him to."

"Alright then. Let's go and get our stuff."

He stepped into the flames and took a pinch of floo powder from the pot they had brought. "Number twelve Grimmauld Place," he announced, disappearing and returning, moments later, to his old home. True to his word Kreacher had placed all the family's packed belongings in the kitchen near the fire. Harry picked a couple of bags up and dropped them in the fire; they disappeared a moment later as Hermione and the kids dragged them out of the grate in New York.

When everything had been moved Harry spent a few minutes to walk around the old house; he wouldn't be divesting of it but it would remain uninhabited for the foreseeable future. He entered Regulus's old room, still as it had been when Sirius's brother had lived there and then his godfather's old room; although James had slept there it had remained almost as a shrine to the 'renegade' Black (though Harry had covered up the pictures of scantily-clad muggle girls with which Sirius had adorned the walls when he had given the room to his son). He smiled as he made the rounds of the place for the last time; there were the bad memories from his own adolescence there but it was where his family had grown up and he would miss the place. Finally, though, he was done and returned to the kitchen, stepping into the fire.

"Waverly Place," he announced and in the blink of an eye he rejoined his family in their new home.

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**AN: Thanks for reading. I really don't know where, if anywhere, I'm going to take this. It might stay as a one-shot or I might get the inspiration to continue it and explore the relationship between the kids as they all discover the magical secrets of one another. Until then please drop me a review with any feedback and/or suggestions for where I could take it. PD.**


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